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Assessing Ssenyonyi’s first year as Leader of Opposition in Parliament

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Leader of Opposition in Parliament Joel Ssenyonyi addresses journalists at parliament in Kampala on January 14, 2025. PHOTO/HANDOUT 

Three months after assuming the Office of the Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LoP), Mr Joel Ssenyonyi, was granted an opportunity to fulfil one of his key pledges---fighting corruption.

Agora Discourse, an online activism organisation alleged there was fraud and corruption at the August House, posting documents implicating the Parliament leadership and some top members of the National Unity Platform (NUP) party where Ssenyonyi comes from.

His subsequent reactions on these allegations, accompanied by different oversight visits to private entities receiving taxpayers’ money, and actions on human rights violations were part of his achievements as he made one year as LoP on January 9. However, his failure to unite the 109 MPs from Opposition, failure to block some controver-
sial Bills, are some of his misses.

When he officially took over from his predecessor, Mr Mathias Mpuuga, who served between 2021 and December 2023, Mr Ssenyonyi pledged to focus on fighting corruption, poor service delivery, and human rights violations.

“When I took office on January 9, 2024, I reminded Parliament of my duty, which is to keep the government in
check as provided for in Article 82A [of the Constitution], Sections 6A and B of Administration of Parliament Act, and
Rule 14(1). It has been a tough year, but I thank God I’m a tough man,” the Nakawa West lawmaker told reporters on Tuesday.

Corruption fight 

The first major corruption scandal Mr Ssenyonyi, who is a first one-time MP, started with, was in his own NUP party and involved his predecessor Mpuuga, who was by then also a parliamentary commissioner and the party deputy president in charge of Buganda region.

A journalist-cum-lawyer Agather Atuhaire last March posted a document on her X-platform implicating the Nyendo-Mukungwe legislator for having participated in allocating himself Shs500m of the infamous one-off Shs1.7b service award.

The rest of the funds was given to the three National Resistance Movement (NRM) back bench commissioners.

Mr Ssenyonyi participated in the NUP leadership meeting that grilled Mr Mpuuga and he was stripped of his powers, which sparked divisions in the party.

The LoP also took the anti-corruption fight to the floor of the House when he on several occasions asked the Speaker to allocate time so that the issues raised by online exhibitors would be debated, which the latter declined.

This and other fights, he told reporters escalated the tensions prompting many legislators including those from Opposition to fight him.

“My staff contracts were not renewed, frustrating some of our oversight visits, and the secret Parliamentary Commission meetings without notifying me. As a team we have provided numerous alternatives, through different minority reports, alternative ministerial policy statements by our Shadow ministers, and the alternative budget, which we presented to the nation,”Mr Ssenyonyi said. 

He added: “As we expose and fight corruption in the State House, ministries, and the different government entities, we shall also keep pushing for the cleaning up of Parliament where we work. And this New Year, we are simply going tengage a higher gear in the fight against corruption.”

The LoP also participated in different oversight roles including his visit to the proposed Lubowa hospital site in Kampala where he was denied access, the October 2024 visit to Atiak sugar factory in Amuru District, the September visit to Dei BioPharma in Wakiso District, among others, where he inspected and made reports.

The government has so far invested Shs600b in the Lubowa hospital construction project, Shs553b in Atiak sugar factory, Shs723b in Dei Biopharma Ltd, Shs263b in Roko Construction Ltd,Inspire Africa Coffee Factory, among others.

“We have drawn attention to the precarious habit of the government giving taxpayers money to private companies without any proper guidelines, and without a clear modus operandi of who qualifies to be assisted with government resources. This abuse of taxpayers’ money is a form of corruption,” Mr Ssenyonyi said.

Human rights violation
The LoP is also chest-thumped that his regime has called out the government on gross human rights violations.

“Many have been killed, others abducted, and many are in jail simply because of their political beliefs, while others have been tortured. We shall keep pushing back against all this injustice,”he said.

Misses
On the other side, analysts said Mr Ssenyonyi has registered some failures including failing to unite the Opposition during his first year as LoP because several MPs such as Richard Lumu of Mityana even reached the extent of bringing a Bill that seeks for all Opposition parties to elect the LoP.

Opposition disunity was also seen during the debate on and passing of the controversial coffee Bill.

The LoP has also not been clear on his stance on political transition as the country heads to the 2026 polls.

Additional reporting by Sylivia Katushabe.